The present invention relates to novel, mostly plastic cards, having a plastic layer which includes high density particles (which may be metal particles or mineral powder) to give the card the feel and weight of a metal card, and methods for their manufacture.
Heavy, metal based, financial transaction cards were introduced in the late 1990's by financial institutions desirous of giving selected customers a sense of wealth and importance. A characteristic of these cards which may be denoted as “prestige” cards is that they weigh between 12 and 15 grams, compared to a standard plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) card having a weight of approximately 5.5 grams. The weight of known prestige cards is typically achieved by the addition of a metal layer on, or in, a card body.
Cards made entirely of metal or having a metal plate are known, as shown for example in US 2012/0325914 (Herslow) or US 2011/0189620 (Herslow). Such cards may also include a booster antenna with a coupler coil as shown for example in US 2013/0126622 (2013, Finn). However, these metal cards are very costly to produce and personalize. Also, the use of metals and metal components require materials, processes, and techniques that are not always compatible with systems and equipment used to manufacture plastic cards.
Additionally, the use of metal layers and components in credit cards inherently increases the risks associated with electrostatic discharge into electronic equipment used in credit card transactions, such as point of sale (POS) terminals and ATMs. They also conduct electricity and can contribute to reader terminal failure due to electrostatic discharge.
Another problem with these metalized cards is that it is difficult to have radio-frequency identification (RFD) operation because the metallization interferes with the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals.
An object of the current invention is to produce a card body which can provide the weight and feel of a metal card without the use of a metal layer.
It is another object of the invention to produce a composite card containing metal particles, but which is not electrically conductive to enable RFD functionality without the need for anti-shielding measures to offset the attenuation of the electromagnetic field caused by metal in, or on, a plastic card.